Children ejected from vehicle expected to live

Two children thrown from an SUV during a collision on Interstate 5 near DuPont on Tuesday are expected to live, the Washington State Patrol said Wednesday.

The 2-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl were taken to area hospitals with what were described as critical injuries after the two-car wreck that blocked traffic for hours.

Trooper Brandy Kessler said Wednesday the two “are going to be OK,” though she did not provide details about the extent of their injuries. Initial reports put the children’s ages at 3 and 6, Kessler added.

The collision occurred about 1 p.m. when the driver of a Honda Civic traveling south on I-5 lost control and the car hit a Ford Expedition carrying 10 people, eight of them children, troopers reported.

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The force of the collision sent the Expedition over a concrete barrier and rolling into the northbound lanes, the State Patrol reported.

Only two of the 10 people inside the Expedition – the driver and a 13-year-old boy – were buckled in, Kessler said. An adult woman was thrown from the Expedition and suffered minor injuries. Troopers originally reported the woman was pregnant but she is not, Kessler said.

The 20-year-old driver of the Civic was arrested and booked into jail for investigation of vehicular assault.

Deputy prosecutor Tim Jones said Wednesday he will delay making a charging decision until results of toxicology tests on the man’s blood come back. That could take several weeks, Jones said.

The man continued to be held Wednesday at the request of U.S. immigration officials, according to county jail records.

Kessler said the woman driving the Expedition will be cited “at a minimum” for violating state seat belt laws by not requiring the children in her car to be buckled up or restrained in safety seats.